


In This Bed

by School_Of_The_Cat



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Cottage core, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Boyfriends, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Mutually Unrequited, Pining, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26097202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/School_Of_The_Cat/pseuds/School_Of_The_Cat
Summary: Kotetsu and Barnaby are forced to take a two-week vacation. Upon Barnaby's suggestion to stay at his parent's house in the country, the two begin to build the confidence to face something they've ignored for a long time.
Relationships: Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks Jr./Kaburagi T. Kotetsu
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	In This Bed

The countryside was a blur of green and orange foliage as the car sped down the dirt road. It was late autumn, and the trees had all gone to seed, shedding their leaves and littering the ground with a colourful pattern of pinecones and acorn shells. Kotetsu rolled down the car window, his hair catching in the sweet, crisp country air. He laughed as he grabbed onto his hat, the wind’s greedy fingers attempting to pry it from off his head.

“Careful you don’t let that go flying out the window, I’m not going back for it.” Barnaby glanced at his partner warmly from the corner of his eye, hands gripping the steering wheel.

When the two had been given mandatory vacation days, they had initially been entirely unenthused.

“Come on, I just got back from retirement, and now I’m already getting stuck with mandatory work leave?”

Kotetsu had been particularly unhappy with the entire arrangement. He wasn’t exactly thrilled to be stuck sitting at home for two weeks- Kaede had already complained about his laziness during the short time he had retired, and he couldn’t imagine she would be too happy about her dad hanging around the house for another two weeks.

Barnaby was much the same, his relentless work ethic making it hard for him to sit still for even a minute.

“I don’t care what you do, just figure it out. We don’t need a lawsuit on our hands.”

Barnaby had suggested the trip over drinks one night in his apartment.

His parents had owned a bit of land out in the country, along with a summer home, which had been left to him in the will. He told Kotetsu that he’d never had much use for the place, thus rented it out during the year, but the fresh air might “do them some good” and that "it might be nice to get out of the city for a while". Kotetsu’s chest tightened, but he laughed it away, joking about how Bunny would hate him once the two weeks were up.

Now the car was slowing, a white farmhouse climbing up over the horizon and into view. Kotetsu gasped, leaning over the dash as if to get a better view of the place.

A lovely French provincial style house stood tall and bright over a sea of tall, yellowing grass. A lake stood a few feet from the property, reflecting the orangey-reds of the setting autumn sun. There was nothing but hills and fields for miles around, making the house appear to be the only building left on earth.

“Oh bunny, it’s beautiful!” Kotetsu breathed, craning his neck over the dash as their car pulled up to the house. Barnaby cut the engine and sat back with a sigh, his gaze fixed on his partner. He smiled gently, before opening the door and stepping out to stretch. Kotetsu made a pointed effort not to notice the way Barnaby’s shirt rode up with the raising of his arms.

The two helped each other drag their luggage into the front hallway, sighing in relief once the doors were shut and everything was inside.

The interior of the house was just as lavish and beautiful as the exterior; antique furniture of cream and white decorated the homely rooms, with little weathered frames containing pressed flowers or pinned insects dotting the wallpaper. Barnaby and Kotetsu slid down against the front door, panting slightly from wresting the luggage up the front steps. They sat breathing side by side before Barnaby smiled, tilting his head back against the wood behind him.

“Man, this brings me back. I haven’t been here since I was a kid.”

“That’s too bad, it’s such a nice property.”

“Yeah, well,” Bunny tilted his face towards Kotetsu, “I’ve never had anyone to come here with.”

Their eyes met and Kotetsu held his gaze, the green in his eyes dotted with flecks of gold from the yellow horizon outside. He absentmindedly reached forward to brush a strand of blonde hair from Bunny’s forehead. He felt his face heat up as his partner closed his eyes at the touch.

Then Kotetsu’s stomach growled obnoxiously, causing him to pull his hand back in embarrassment. His face went scarlet.

“Ah. Sorry about that.”

Barnaby laughed gently, pulling himself up off the floor, before bending down and offering his hand to help Kotetsu do the same.

“It’s alright, I’ll start making dinner. Could you find the red cooler somewhere amongst the bags?”

As Barnaby moved noisily around the kitchen, Kotetsu took on the task of beginning to unpack the many bags that littered the front hallway. He sorted through the piles of books and magazines in Barnaby’s bag, smiling at how silly it was that he’d brought so many. Then he moved to the rest of the food in the other bags, sorting through the cans and jars of assorted spices, carrying armfuls back and forth from the front hall to the kitchen. Just as he bent down to grab another load to bring in, he heard Bunny cry out from the other room. He came running, heart beating out of his chest as he found his partner clutching his hand.

“Barnaby, what happened?” His eyes glanced at the knife discarded into the sink, the tip dotted with blood.

“It’s ok, Kotetsu I’m alright, really. I just slipped and cut my hand a little, it’s not that bad.”

Kotetsu breathed a sigh of relief before rifling through one of the cupboards, producing a first aid kit.

Barnaby rolled his eyes.

“Come on, really? I told you, I’m _fine_.”

“No, you're not. Come here, little Bunny.”

Barnaby’s expression hardened on instinct at the sound of the nickname but softened again as Kotetsu gently took his hand, carefully pressing a cotton ball to the cut on his palm. He wrapped his hand in gauze, fingers delicately grazing, as not to hurt him, before releasing him altogether. He smiled, closing the first aid kit and returning it to the cupboard.

“Thanks.”

“Here, I’ll finish making dinner. Don’t want you cutting anything else, alright? Besides, you’ve been driving all day. You must be tired.”

After they’d eaten and talked for a while over the fireplace and some wine, Kotetsu decided that Barnaby needed some rest, and ushered them off to their separate rooms. He would be staying in Barnaby’s old room, while Barnaby slept across the hall in his parent’s bed. He felt a little embarrassed, sleeping in a child’s bunk-bed like this, but he knew Barnaby liked his privacy, and he felt he needed to respect that. He sighed, resigning himself to the little wooden bunk-bed with robot stickers running along the headboard.

He lay awake for a long time, listening to the eerie quiet of the countryside. He could hear the cricket’s chirping and the sound of the lake nearby, and it felt so lonely, the absence of the city’s ambience making him feel small in his bed. He stared up at the bunk above him, tracing the knots in the wood with his fingers.

He wondered if Barnaby was asleep in the room next to him. He could picture his chest gently rising and falling, face blissfully peaceful as sleep cradled him in gentle ignorance. His long eyelashes would be drawn shut, eyes moving slightly behind them, perhaps, if he were dreaming, his pink lips slightly parted. He would be warm, beneath the sheets, shifting unconsciously as sleep held him tightly. Kotetsu’s stomach turned, picturing what it would feel like to hold Bunny in his arms as his chest gently rose and fell.

He didn't sleep at all that night.


End file.
